Self-Kindness Sundays: Week 5 of 20

Legs. They are remarkable. They come in so many different shapes, sizes, colours, abilities.

They all tell different stories.

My legs tell a story of great adventures and misadventures.

They have taken me to new heights.

and new lows.

Through open doors.

and closed ones.

They have carried me to different countries.

and through a half marathon.

My legs allow me to jump and splash in puddles.

and ride bicycles all over the city.

They twist, turn, and bend in every which way.

and help me keep up with my little ones.

They have scars, scrapes, and bruises showing where I've been.

and they inspire me to build dreams of where they'll go.

They glide through water.

Hike up mountains.

Fly through the air.

Descend into valleys.

Climb trees and rocks.

Dance all night.

Play all day.

My legs may not look exactly as I would like them to. They may not even function at the level I want them to. Sometimes I feel pain. My knees aren't good, and my right hip locks often, but they have yet to fail me in reaching a goal, fulfilling a dream.

I love my legs. My legs tell a story. A great one. One that will continue to grow and evolve for as long as my little legs allow me.

And I want to give a HUGE thank you to Sarah for taking the most beautiful pictures she could have given the subject matter ^_^

The loveliest of lovelies

My dad is the loveliest of lovelies!

Truly, honestly, completely the loveliest man I know.

My dad is a man of few words, but those few words are ones you want to hear, and truly listen to.

He is both a solid rock, of which you can always rely on, lean on, and depend on to stay in one piece; and a plush teddy bear, of which you can give and receive giant bear hugs, great long cuddles, and depend on to make you smile.

He is gentle, a big softy really.

He is generous of his time and wisdom.

He is the hardest working man I have ever known and probably will ever know.

He is a badass with a tattoo on his shoulder to prove it (even if it is a heart made of mine and my sisters initials).

He is a remarkable role model.

He is a lover of the outdoors; flowers, trees, lakes, and oceans calm him.

He enjoys the simple things in life. Family, food, and relaxing on the deck up north or in the backyard at home.

My dad is the kindest of the kind, the dorkiest of dorks, the cutest of the cute, the cuddliest of the cuddly, and just simply the loveliest of lovelies.

Happy Father's Day daddy.

I love you bery bery muchy (as my Korean kids would say!)

Self-Kindness Sundays: Week 4 of 20

I've always had a huge smile, and consequently a huge laugh. One that tends to take over my entire face. My cheeks try to eat my eyes, turning them into half moons. The sides of my nose turn up. My complexion turns a bright shade of red. My mouth gapes open displaying my Chicklet sized teeth.On occasion I laugh until my eyes, what's left of them anyway, tear up and send streams down my cheeks. Sometimes I'm a good old knee slapper. Occasionally I sound like a donkey, hyena, and I'm sure many other wild animals. I have been known to snort as well, usually at inappropriate times.

Sometimes people laugh at me. Sometimes they are laughing with me.

I have without intending to, embarrassed people. I also have created laughter for others.

Some consider it infectious, endearing, humorous, and cute. Others find it irritating, loud, obnoxious, and ugly.

What ever other people think doesn't matter, nor will it cause me to change, because the reality is that I can't change it. Sure I can muffle it, cover my mouth, try to suffocate myself, but certainly wouldn't want someone to stiffle their laughter simply because it's a less than enjoyable sound to my ears. Laughter to me is a beautiful thing, I wish I laughed more to be honest.

With that, Week 4 is: I love my plethora of laughs.

They show my joy, happiness, contentment, and I'm sure they bring at least some people joy as well. If my laughter creates even one smile, then I'm more than happy to share.

Self-Kindness Sundays: Week 3 of 20

This weekend I went hiking and camping with my friends, Colin and Mitchell. It was overcast all day on Saturday, which was perfect for hiking because a cool wind accompanied it.

Today the sun was out in full force and as expected, my reflective white skin changed to a light shade of pink. Along with the pinkish tone, small orange freckles popped up to greet summer with an impressive display.
I used to, and still do receive comments like "damn girl! you need a tan!", but my response to that is "shove it! I love my skin as is thank you!"

The sad truth is that as a teen, I hated my skin colour. I hated my freckles. Why?

Probably because it made me different. It made me stand out. Maybe because I didn't see it as beautiful. Definitely because of how careful, cautious, and consistent I needed to be to protect my skin from burning to a crisp...I'm talking sunscreen everyday of my life no matter the season, and a sunscreen of 50 spf!

So what changed?

I'll be the first to admit that i still hate having to slop on greasy, pore clogging sunscreen everyday, but I just accepted the fact that I can't change it. Once I accepted it 'as is' I started to notice myself appreciating it. Appreciating being different.

My beautiful orange freckles are a part of my dad. My milky, white chocolate skin tone is a part of my mum. I love them both, and I truly love being a "white chocolate cookie" as some of my students have dubbed me.

So week 3: I love my reflective, milky white skin and orange freckles.

A Beautiful Sunday!

Two weeks ago I had a relaxing weekend in Daejeon. On Sunday (May 30), I spent the day having lunch, an afternoon green tea latte, a lounge in the park and some tree climbing with a great friend, Nicolette. We always attract a lot of attention in Korea: I'm reflective white, ginger haired, and freckled; Nico is American/Cuban/Puerto Rican/and others that I forget (I'm sorry Nico for butchering your ethnicities!), really short, and extremely loud. However, put those two visions of uniqueness in a very popular park, climbing every tree possible, and you get a freak show.



Comments, stares, cheering, laughing...but we do our best to ignore it or just laugh with everyone so we don't feel like we're in a Foreigner Freak Show.


I don't know about Nico, but I've always been curious as to how it may feel to be in the circus. Now I know that feeling a little bit more.

Ok, so I think Nico may have had dreams of being in a circus too!

What a beautiful Sunday!

Self-Kindness Sundays: Week 2 of 20

As I said in my first week that this would be a challenge for me, it has proved to be just that. This was intended to be thought provoking for me, but I honestly didn't think I would have such a hard time finding things I love about myself.

I thought about things like, 'my finger nails are strong and grow quickly', 'my hair is strong', 'I have great eye sight'...but that is completely copping out. If this is going to aid me in self development, I need to really think, really search and learn to love or admit that I love certain things about myself...even things that I'm sure others don't love about me.

So what did I come up with then?

I may still have copped out a bit this week, but this soul searching is a gradual process after all right? Well this week I had joined a group of people, after having enlisted my partner in crime Nico, to go paragliding. I was super pumped about it and asked Nico if she wanted to join me, and she responded with an enthusiastic "yes!", only to find out the night before that she is terrified of heights. Despite her fears, she joined me on this adventure. It was quite a long journey (about 2.5 hours in total), and in that time I did some thinking, and some talking. In our chatting I came to realize something that I love about myself, and I mean truly love!

So Week 2: I love love love the fact that I am adventurous!

I'm always excited to jump off mountains and cliffs, climb trees and rock faces, travel to new countries and cities, try new and/or disgusting foods, and experience the unexpected.

I know it makes my mum and dad sweat, worry, and lose sleep sometimes, but I always do keep my safety in mind. After all, if I love adventure so much why would I want to be frivolous and risk cutting my life and adventures short?

And as a side note, I'm happy to announce that this weekend lead to me crossing off number 57 from my Life List!!!

The landing spot

watching others from below

my partner in crime, Nico and I waiting for our turn

Finally! we're at the top and ready to get suited up!

Nico getting set up to fly

see mum I even wore a helmet!

one of the other girls, Judy, literally running off the side of the mountain to take off

patiently waiting to take a running leap

Nico shitting her pants

in flight